Floods in Thailand leave 23 dead, $300 million in losses

BANGKOK – Floods in Thailand's northern and eastern regions have killed at least 23 people and left two missing with damage estimated at around $300 million.

The Interior Ministry says 10 provinces have been flooded due to heavy rains, affecting 721,500 people.

Mongkol Tunsuwan, the president for the northeastern region of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, says the floods are expected to set the region back by at least 10 billion baht ($300 million).

According to the Interior Ministry, around 1,554 square kilometers (600 square miles) of rice farming land has been affected. The hardest hit is Sakon Nakhon province, around 640 kilometers (400 miles) east of Bangkok, which has recorded nine deaths. Schools and department stores in the province remain shut.